Think about the chemical structure of carrageenan and agar - what do they have in common?
Carrageenan is a high molecular mass material with a high degree of polydispersity. The molecular mass distribution varies from sample to sample, depending upon the
sample history, e.g., age of the harvested seaweed, season of harvesting, way of extracting, and duration of heat treatment. Commercial (food-grade) carrageenans have
a weight average molecular mass (Mw) anging from 400 ± 600 kDa with a minimum of 100 kDa. This minimum is set in response to reports of cecal and colonic
ulceration induced by highly degraded carrageenan.
2- What are the differences between kappa, iota and lambda carrageenan? Why?
Kappa carrageenan
extracted from Eucheuma cottonii and from Chondrus crispus seaweed.
Carrageenan is a high molecular mass material with a high degree of polydispersity. The molecular mass distribution varies from sample to sample, depending upon the
sample history, e.g., age of the harvested seaweed, season of harvesting, way of extracting, and duration of heat treatment. Commercial (food-grade) carrageenans have
a weight average molecular mass (Mw) anging from 400 ± 600 kDa with a minimum of 100 kDa. This minimum is set in response to reports of cecal and colonic
ulceration induced by highly degraded carrageenan.
2- What are the differences between kappa, iota and lambda carrageenan? Why?
Kappa carrageenan
extracted from Eucheuma cottonii and from Chondrus crispus seaweed.